


Clearing the Air

by SecurityBreach



Series: Frostiron Bingo [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Bickering, Cultural Differences, Established Relationship, Eventual Fluff, Feels, Frostiron Bingo Round 1, Frostironbingo 2019, Gardening, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, Kissing, M/M, Magic, Magical Realism, Midtown Manhattan, Misunderstandings, Music, Paparazzi, Possibly Pre-Slash, Prompt Fill, Protective Loki (Marvel), Relationship Issues, Stark Tower, Tension, Unspecified Setting, botanist loki, doctrine of signatures, magical thinking, potion making, quarrelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 15:15:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20137552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecurityBreach/pseuds/SecurityBreach
Summary: Being star-crossed lovers is not always easy, especially when the paparazzi interfere. Fortunately, Loki and Tony know where their priorities lie, even while quarrelling over sensitive issues like music, literature, and gardening.





	Clearing the Air

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fill for the Frostiron Bingo 2019: 'Someone's looking down on me (Iron Maiden)' (i1). Since I don't know a thing about the band I googled the quote and now I'm just hoping I didn't get it all too wrong. 
> 
> Thank you to all the wonderful people on discord who organized this event! I think you're awesome.
> 
> **Square filled: i1 (Someone's looking down on me (Iron Maiden)) **

Loki was spending a pleasant early morning watering his flowers on the roof terrace of Stark Tower when the owner of Midtown Manhattan’s most magnificent high rise himself showed up.

‘Hi,’ Tony Stark said, eyeing his boyfriend’s garden unhappily. The inventor didn’t look so good; there were dark circles under his eyes while his body language indicated an almost unbearable tension. Something was clearly wrong. ‘That’s some freaky looking stuff you’re growing here, Lokes,’ Tony remarked.

Loki smiled pleasantly. ‘Good morning to you too, my dear. I take it you slept well?’

‘I didn’t sleep at all. Lab all night, as you are well aware.’

‘And no doubt ruining your hearing by listening to that infernal noise again.’

‘That infernal noise you refer to helps my creative process,’ replied the inventor ‘We talked about this for how many times now? I just like the music, and besides, I think some of the lyrics are great.’ To make a point, he started to quote the lyrics of Iron Maiden’_s _song _The Educated Fool,_ but the Norse god stopped him with an impatient wave of his hand.

‘Yes, Tony, yes, I know. It’s all too obvious you’ve never read a saga or listened to a real bard. Please remind me to introduce you to some of our leading skálds when we next visit Asgard.’

‘You know, sometimes I think that _someone’s looking down on me _indeed. And I mean as in '_showing contempt for _’.

Loki put down his green old-fashioned tin watering can and looked his boyfriend into the eye. ‘And why would I do that?’

‘Taste in music, assumed lack of education...’

‘Ah,’ replied Loki and started to water his plants again.

‘Ah? Is that all you have to say?’ Tony asked irritably. ‘You’re unbelievable.’

‘Look, my love, we have been there before, haven’t we?’

Tony rolled his eyes. ‘Yes, I know we agreed that we both need our niches to keep our relationship rolling. That’s why I only listen to my favourite music in the lab while you keep your flower pots on the terrace because I don’t want a container garden in our living room.’

‘A good arrangement, I feel. Wait a second please, I need a refill.’

‘Yeah, no. About that. Can’t you use a hose or something? You’re wasting a ridiculous amount of time watering your stuff and that's completely unnecessary. I could build you an amazing irrigation system if you want me to.’

‘Tony, I understand you’ve never been interested in gardening and probably never will be. You found your way to relax and I found mine, and I think that’s great. Also, I feel you should tell me what really ails you this morning besides of my teasing you about your musical and literary tastes.’

‘Right,’ said Tony, ‘you’re right, totally right. Apparently, some pictures of the roof where taken recently from a news helicopter and now people are speculating if I’m growing some sort of weed here.’

‘Weed?’

‘Yeah, because nobody knows what those plants are. JARVIS just found several posts on various social media platforms on how weird they look, and I’m worried.’

‘These plants are perfectly ordinary on Asgard and, since I’m an experienced sorcerer and potions maker, completely safe in my hands. Also, what do people mean, weed? Do they wish to insult my gardening skills?’

‘No, they’re talking about _drugs._’

‘But of course they’re drugs.’ Loki said and Tony blanched under his suntan. ‘Now that I come to think on it, most plants can be used as drugs as long as you know how to treat them right. Sometimes, I’m amazed how limited the collective botanical knowledge of Midgard is.’

‘_Someone’s looking down on me_ again!’ exclaimed Tony, with some heartfelt miff this time. But, nevertheless, he added, ‘Loki, darling, listen: if you need money or are in some kind of trouble, please tell me. I’m sure I can fix it. _Stark Legal_’s at your disposal, there’s no need to do something illegal and go into further trouble.’

‘So quick at jumping to conclusions, my love,’ Loki whispered sadly. ‘You know I’m a sorcerer, and I need my plants for making potions. Come, let me show you around and explain some of my herbs and flowers so you might learn to appreciate them too.’

Tony sighed and relaxed a little. ‘Yeah, you’re probably right, show me around. Still, this tower was supposed to be a cool-looking futurists place, and to think that it’s now being disfigured by all this terracotta hurts my feelings.’

‘And _I_ think that my beloved, beautiful friend is being disfigured by the ugly print on his T-shirt,’ Loki bantered while gently taking Tony by the arm and giving him the warm, cheeky smile that always helped to melt the inventor’s heart.

‘Hey, I’m always awesome, and this a vintage band shirt, priceless and very rare.’

‘If you say so, Tony. But maybe, you'd like to ask JARVIS to look up _Urban __Horticulture_ and why it’s becoming _a thing_. You'll find this might be the _new_ futurists look and, thanks to me, you’re right among the trendsetters.’

‘Yes, my dear.’ Tony petted Loki’s hand. ‘If you say so.’

And so the couple wandered around the roof of Stark Tower, with Loki pointing out this and that while Tony tried to understand the fascination of it all. In the background, the noise of the waking city was making itself heard, the sound of too many cars mixing with the engine noise of the occasional aircraft.

‘Look at this,’ Loki said, interrupting their walk suddenly.

‘It’s...’ Tony eyed the plant in front of him; its leaves looked suspiciously like exceptionally fleshy human ears. ‘Good grief Loki! What on Earth _is_ this thing?’

‘It’s for you,’ Loki explained proudly. ‘This succulent’s seeds are almost impossible to come by and it’s also very difficult to cultivate.’

‘...thank you?’

Understanding dawned in Loki’s eyes. ‘Tony, have you never heard about the _ doctrine of signatures _?’

‘Of course I have. It’s some ancient bogus theory which says that herbs resembling various parts of the body can be used to treat ailments of those body parts.’

‘It’s an old and venerable branch of seiðr that was only discredited because Midgardians didn’t have the patience (and probably not the brains either) to look into the art of potion-making properly.’ When Loki saw Tony pouting, he added hastily, ‘You, my dear, are of course the exception from the rule. Your mind is amazing.’

‘But what does it do?’ Tony asked, his natural curiosity overcoming his new fit of ill humour.

‘If turned into a potion, every single drop can restore the hearing of even a completely deaf person. It's the perfect drug and cure for impaired hearing. So when- and we’re talking about the foreseeable future here- you’ll start to suffer from hearing loss due to the noise level you like to expose yourself to, I’m all prepared and ready to fix you.’

‘Loki, I don’t know what to say. Are you telling me you have already brewed this potion?’

‘Of course I have, silly. What do you think? It naturally took some time, talent, and skill, and a less consummate and gifted potions maker than I would have most likely failed anyway, but I have a bottle ready for use now. However, it needs to be stored in a soundproof environment so it doesn’t turn sour from shock. And, please believe me, this is difficult to achieve and takes a lot of magic, especially in this sleepless city.’

‘And that’s why you banned my music from the penthouse to the lab, I guess,’ Tony stated. ‘Babe, why didn’t you just tell me?’

Loki shrugged. ‘You know what they say, my love: old habits never die. I had so many potions ruined, jars broken, and spells mocked at on Asgard by ignorant dunces, secrecy has become a second skin to me and it’s hard to unlearn the experience. Even with you.’

‘I know,’ Tony said sadly, touching Loki’s pale skin softly and caressing his black hair, ‘but you’re trying, and that’s what counts. Thank you for being so considerate and foresighted.’

‘Darling, I’m _not looking down on you_, I’m _just keeping a close watch over you_ because I love you so much, even though I sometimes sound like a pompous, arrogant ass.’

‘I guess we’re both absolute champions,’ admitted the inventor. ‘It’s called ‘The Good Old Silly Ass Game’, and I suggest we say GOSAG from now on.’

‘That’s a valid acronym,’ Loki said and cut off a few withered flower pods. Somehow, they seemed to disappear into thin air. ‘But please, Tony, tell me, are we good again?’

Tony beamed at his boyfriend and simply replied, ‘Yeah, we good.’

Soon, after looking at a few more plants (Tony was honestly starting to like them now), the lovers began to exchange caresses while completely ignoring the whirring of the rotor blades of a helicopter that was just passing by. Unfortunately, some ruthless passenger grabbed the opportunity to take a picture that would go viral only a few minutes later and gave Tony something new to worry about.

When JARVIS alerted the couple to the situation and asked them to come inside, Tony reluctantly looked at several posts that were already online and frowned. Then he felt Loki moving closer to him._ I’m not alone any more,_ he thought. _A genuine Norse god__ has my back __now__._

Loki took his hand and squeezed it gently.

_ Did you read my mind? _But the sorcerer remained blank-faced despite Tony’s inquiring gaze.

‘We could shut the sites down, sir,’ JARVIS informed him, 'and make it look like a massive server breakdown that went out of control while erasing the data.'

‘Nah,’ Tony said, squeezing Loki’s hand too, ‘nothing wrong with spreading a bit of sweetness and light in this sad old world, J. Let _Stark Legal_ deal with it. There must be some privacy laws and I want them enforced from now on. Till then, I’m most happy to let everybody know that I have found my unicorn.’

And while the men resumed their kissing, Loki, who had a preternaturally acute sense of hearing even for a Norse god, noticed just the tiniest electronic sigh because, despite being Earth’s most advanced AI, JARVIS was just another foolishly sentimental romantic, especially when Tony Stark was concerned.

_Midgardians_, Loki thought and immediately stopped thinking about it again, because honestly, right now, he had far more important business on his hands.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading my fic! Would you like to leave a comment or kudos? I'd love to hear from you 🖤
> 
> Btw: the _doctrine of signatures _ really exists (existed?). Just look it up [at wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrine_of_signatures).


End file.
